In photos, as in life, sometimes being out of focus is o.k.

To celebrate the first day of Mama Chow’s Christmas visit, we had lunch in Beverly Hills and did some browsing on Rodeo Drive. Like all good tourists, we took a photo of ourselves at the fountain in front of Two Rodeo Drive. Later in the afternoon, Santa Claus sat behind a velvet rope beside the fountain. Parents tried to pose their frightened children on the jolly old man’s lap. I can still hear their screams.

I took this snapshot as we walked out of Missoni at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. The sun cast interesting shadows along the shop’s woven aluminum facade.